Believing in Science: The One Health Approach
Berkeley is part of a global community. Our well-being is interdependent on fellow human and non-human animals, and our shared environment. This interconnected relationship is the basis of the One Health approach. While the environmental movement has progressed significantly in the past few decades, animals are almost never recognized in our social and environmental movements because we fail to recognize our interdependence. This is a crucial misstep and one that must be addressed for our global health.
Building Empathy for Non-human Animals
All forms of oppression of human and non-human animals are related! In order to take a One Health approach, we must address forms of speciesism that promote the unsustainable, unhealthy, and unethical practices of the meat and dairy industries. An antidote to this speciesism is to develop empathy for the animals killed and used in these industries. Thousands of Berkeleyans have shifted towards an empathetic and sustainable lifestyle that doesn’t require animal exploitation for their food and fashion. I want to recognize those that have already implemented some of these values into their daily lives. For those that haven’t, I hope that by providing scientific evidence and empathetic reasoning will join us.
Environment
1. Climate Change
The City of Berkeley is repealing a first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas. But this policy has raised public awareness on the dire need for us to reduce methane emissions. In the U.S., livestock enteric fermentation and waste management is the leading source of methane emissions. Similarly, meat and dairy production accounts for 55% of California’s methane emissions. In Berkeley, the household consumption of meat and dairy is associated with more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than natural gas. So, it is the right time to shift our focus from household fuel to household food.
Shifting the food on our plates to more plant-based options, that also frees up essential land to sequester carbon, offsetting emissions, and getting us closer to ensuring global temperatures will not surpass 1.5c.
2. Water Scarcity
Can taking shorter showers address California’s water crisis? An average Californian’s water footprint is 1500 gallons per day and 47% of that water footprint is associated with meat and dairy products due to water intensive animal feed (ex. Alfalfa). Taking meat off your plate saves water in a drought prone state!
3. Environmental Racism
Animal factory farms are responsible for significant water and air pollution, impacting the health, wellbeing and livability for local communities. Many of these industrial facilities are located in low-income black and brown communities. These marginalized families are disproportionately impacted by contaminated air, and water pollution impacting their physical and mental health.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), livestock manure contaminates both surface and ground water with pathogens and nitrates. For example, Tulare County, California has experienced significant nitrate water contamination from intensive agriculture systems nearby. Animal factory farms also pollute the air by generating harmful gaseous and particulate substances. A recent study reports that 12,700 annual deaths are associated with air pollution from the U.S. livestock industry. Berkeley is a multicultural, globally-minded community. We need to have this same mentality when we think of our purchasing power and for the food we choose to put on our plates.
4. Biodiversity
Of the 28,000 species at risk of extinction globally, our food system is the primary threat to more than 86% of them. It is estimated that 38% of Earth’s habitable land has been cleared to raise domestic animals for meat and dairy. Today, farm animals account for 60% of Earth’s mammals, compared to only 4% of wild mammals. The expansion of agriculture lands into natural ecosystems also increases the spillover risk of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19.
Locally, the conflict between native Tule Elk and cattle ranchers at Point Reyes National Park demonstrates the impact of meat and dairy production on local wildlife. Fences were placed to prevent Tule Elk from accessing food and water in their natural habitat to benefit local cattle. Tule Elk are dying from starvation. This is a planned and intentional loss of local biodiversity. Shifting to plant-based foods can significantly help reduce biodiversity loss.
Health of Human Animals
1. Chronic Diseases & Our Food System
According to the CDC’s Guide to Strategies to Increase the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables, a diet rich in vegetables and fruits decreases the risk of several chronic illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and various forms of cancers. But the USDA Dietary Guidelines from 2020-25 finds that 80% of the U.S. population eats less vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains than recommended, and nearly 70% of the population is consuming more meat, poultry and eggs than is recommended. Increasing access to plant-based foods can significantly improve public health and reduce the cost of public healthcare.
2. Zoonotic Pandemics
Communities across the globe are familiar with outbreaks: from Avian Flu to Covid-19. These viruses often originate in animals and spread to humans. A novel virus can spill over into the human population causing a global pandemic, similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Influenza A virus, which infects birds and mammals, is the most notorious virus of all time. It has caused four global pandemics in the 19th century, killing millions of people. The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) A subtypes, like H5N1, are significant pandemic threats with extremely high mortality. A multi-state HPAI A (H5N1) outbreak is now taking place in dairy cows. It is the first time these bird flue viruses are infecting cows. Shifting to a plant-based lifestyle can reduce our pandemic risk, conserve wildlife and reduce domesticated animals raised for meat and dairy.
3. World Hunger
In the U.S., 127 million acres of land is used to grow feed for industrial animal agriculture. This significantly reduces the number of people fed per hectare of agricultural land, and contributes to the issue of world hunger. It is estimated that the opportunity food loss with beef, pork, dairy, poultry and eggs are 96%, 90%, 75%, 50% and 40%, respectively. Therefore, shifting to plant-based foods can address world hunger and help meet nutritional requirements of the growing global population.
